ELMS: LMGT3 debut, Pro/Am podium hunt and incident-filled final half hour in Barcelona
21 LMP2 UA
This weekend, the 2025 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) roared into action at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, with the United Autosports trio coming home P5 (#21 LMP2 Pro/Am), P6 (#22 LMP2) and P11 in class (#23 McLaren LMGT3) in the ultra-competitive, four-class, 44-strong grid.
Multi ELMS podium-placer Daniel Schneider took the start from P5 for the #21 LMP2 Pro/Am crew, staying out of trouble and maintaining his position around the top five. The Brazilian driver handed the #21 ORECA 07 to Oliver Jarvis after the first hour, who closed the gap to the leading pack with strong pace.
From there, the #21 LMP2 Pro/Am crew strategically hunted down the podium, with three-time ELMS race winner Marino Sato in the car and two fresh tyres in the bank for the final chase. However, a Virtual Safety Car with less than 20 minutes on the clock negated the tyre advantage and, with only two racing laps to the checkered flag and traffic between Marino and the cars ahead, the #21 crew was forced to settle for P5.
In the #22 ORECA 07, Manuel Maldonado took the start, successfully gaining places from P11 to P6 in his opening stint. The British Venezuelan driver handed the car to Gregoire Saucy just prior to the first Virtual Safety Car (VSC) intervention of the race. The timing resulted in the #22 losing track position and dropping to P9 in class on a track where it is proven to be challenging to pass. With 80 minutes left on the clock, it was over to twelve-time ELMS podium placer Ben Hanley. The Brit’s stint started with a longer-than-planned stop, due to a wheel fitment issue, however Hanley pushed to the finish, securing P6 for the team.
In LMGT3, the #23 McLaren GT3 EVO crew kicked off their first season with a double / triple (TBC) stint for ELMS debutant Michael Birch. The Brit kept it clean through the start and, after two hours of drive time, brought the car home to hand over to Australian, Garnet Patterson. Inot the second half of the race, the McLaren showed strong pace, with Patterson and Wayne Boyd putting down lap times to rival the leaders, maintaining the gap but unable to make significant inroads. Ultimately, the #23 crew came home P11, but with lots of positives and key learnings for the rest of the season.
The next round of the 2025 ELMS is the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on Sunday 4th May – but first, the FIA World Endurance Championship team are heading to Italy for the 6 Hours of Imola on Sunday 20th April. Stay up to date with the team on social @unitedautosports.
#21 LMP2 ProAm drivers
#21 LMP2 Pro/Am
QUALI P5 | RACE P5 | CHAMP P5
Daniel Schneider: “We started P5 and we finished P5. It wasn’t my best race … I found it challenging at the start because the car is quite different from last year. Good different, but I have to adapt myself to that! We were preparing to fight for the podium at the end but we had bad luck with the final VSC and the long Safety Car. At that moment, we had two new tyres and everyone else had old tyres … that was when we were going to move forward. But that time was taken away from us. We’ll be back to fight in Le Castellet!”
Oliver Jarvis: “P5 isn’t what we were aiming for, but we stayed out of trouble and came away with points – so that’s the positive. Daniel did a great job at the start and without the VSC and Safety Car, we had the potential to get P3 or P4. The VSC certainly didn’t help us … with two laps to the end and traffic in between us and the cars we were fighting. It just didn’t give us enough time. It’s so competitive in this series … if things don’t quite go your way, you’re off the podium and finishing in 5th or 6th place.”
Marino Sato: “P5 … not what we wanted in terms of position, but I think we have great potential. I felt very welcome joining the #21 crew, we are already seeing great progress and it’s only the first race of the season. I’m looking forward to our next race together. There are some things we could have improved but ultimately the strategy didn’t work out for us. The VSC and Safety Car happened at the wrong time so we didn’t manage to use the new tyres which we had saved for my final stint. I spent most of the green time in my stint on old tyres, and the majority of the yellow with my good tyres. I feel like I was ready to get the two cars ahead if the VSC didn’t come … I just didn’t have the chance.”
#22 LMP2 Drivers
#22 LMP2
QUALI P11 | RACE P6 | CHAMP P6
Manuel Maldonado: “We started in a bit of a difficult position in P11 but I kept my head down, had a good race start and from there, I tried to make as much progress as possible. Managing the tyres has been a challenge the whole week but we’ve done a good job and after my first stint, we started overtaking – getting up to P8. We got a bit unlucky in terms of strategy – I pitted and then the first VSC came out which wasn’t in our favour. The team did a great job … just one issue in a pit stop which lost some time … but these things happen. I feel like we could have been in P3 but it’s still good to score points. We’ve got to look at the bigger picture, which is the championship. We’ll go forward from here!”
Gregoire Saucy: “The positions changed a lot in the race this weekend, but at the end of my stop, I think we were P4 - so the podium was there. There was an issue with the car in the pit stop when me and Ben Hanley did the driver change, so we lost some time there. But thank you to the team as always - we will keep working for the next one!”
Ben Hanley: “A few things didn’t go the way we wanted this weekend. In the race, we had an issue in one of the pit stops which cost us a lot of time – but we know we have a competitive line-up. So we’ll keep working hard and come back to get a result at Paul Ricard next month.”
#23 LMGT3 drivers
#23 MCLaren LMgt3
QUALI P9 | RACE P11 | CHAMP P12
Michael Birch: “It’s been absolutely mega this week. I have been made to feel so welcome and everybody in the team has worked really hard to help me. It’s a lot to learn! But I’ve really enjoyed it. It didn’t work out how we wanted but we have five more rounds ahead and I can’t wait.”
Garnet Patterson: “We didn’t get the result we wanted this weekend, but the pace in the car was good, Michael has had a strong introduction to the ELMS and there’s lots learned … onwards and upwards to Le Castellet!”
Wayne Boyd: “Cracking effort from Michael. His first race in a GT3 car at this sort of level, and to bring the car in completely clean is a superb effort. The team, as always, did a fantastic job and the car’s pace is strong. There’s obviously a few bits and pieces we can work on for the next round but for me, as our opening race - even though the result isn’t what we wanted - there are so many positives we can take for the rest of the season.”
MANAGEMENT
Max Gregory, Managing Director: “The level of competition in the European Le Mans Series builds year on year - it’s a very exciting championship to be part of. The #21 LMP2 Pro/Am crew should have been on the podium. They have great potential this season, and I have no doubt we will see Daniel, Olly and Marino up there very soon. For the #22 LMP2 and #23 LMGT3 entries, we have learnings to take away and work on but it has been fantastic to welcome Michael Birch to the ELMS team and to bring McLaren back to the ELMS grid.”
